Imagination shares lift as Apple extends its iPhone chip contract
IMAGINATION Technologies saw its shares rocket as much as 20 per cent yesterday after it renewed a multi-year contract with Apple to supply the iPhone-maker with graphics chips for its devices.
Since the beginning of 2012 Imagination’s share price has plummeted by over 75 per cent on fears that the chip maker was losing market share to its biggest rival ARM. Yesterday’s announcement calmed those fears.
Last quarter Apple sold 51m iPhones and 26m iPads, all of which used Imagination’s graphics chips.
“Imagination will receive on-going licence fees, and royalty revenues on shipment of SoCs (Systems on Chip) incorporating Imagination’s intellectual property (IP),” said Imagination.
The “multi-year, multi-use” licence gives Apple access to Imagination’s range of current and future graphics, and video, chips and IP.
Imagination’s share price closed up 14.2 per cent at 185.1p on the news yesterday.